Bindings
by Lady Hallen
Summary: One-shot. Gods bear Names, but they can change. Poor, foolish Hela, not realizing that.


**Spoilers under cut for Thor:Ragnarok**

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Names were important.

Names were especially important when you're a god. Loki knows that. Intimately, irritably and often with resignation.

For a person _Named_ the god of Mischief and Chaos, he embodied his Name. He doesn't do anything unless it benefited himself, no matter the chaos or mischief he has to do to get it. It's a testament to Frigga's parenting that he didn't turn out worse.

For a child Named the goddess of Death, what torture it must have been to live in times of peace?

He can guess what she had gone through, given that most of Asgard were minor war gods, minor weather gods and other such non-sense. No one else had been a Trickster god, and he'd almost withered with the pain of it.

Goddess of Death. The name said it all. She reveled in death, in causing death. She wasn't a war god, no. She was something worse. She embodied an entity that was supposed to be the end of all life.

What had been the Norns thinking of Naming Odin's first born with that title?

Loki remembered now, half-fading memory coming up, looking up at old histories and finding discrepancies. The sudden death of all the Valkyrie. The Norn's suddenly coming up to Odin and re-Naming him in the middle of battle.

Suddenly, he was no longer Odin the greatest War God since Bor. He was Odin, All-Father.

A father was many things, but what Odin chose to be was a gentle and protecting father. Hela remained under the same Name and unchanged. And suddenly, he was curbing her very nature, the one that thrived causing death.

Loki hated it, sympathizing with Hela. It wasn't a nice feeling, given that he'd just witnessed Asgard exploding to the very foundations.

What the Norn's could have done was re-Name her, but he had the sneaking suspicion that she had grown too powerful to be simply re-Named.

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* * *

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"You are looking awfully contemplative there, brother."

Thor managed a smile that looked more like a grimace judging by Loki's blank look.

"I pity Hela," Loki muttered, words that he'd never expected to hear from the trickster. "She was…bound."

Thor understood that too, even if he didn't want to. The manic look in her eyes, the desperation to continue her embodiment even to the detriment of everyone around her. He'd been scolded as a child for causing thunderstorms when he had tantrums.

Hindsight was 20/20. Everyone thought Loki was the one most punished during their childhood, but both of them knew better. Discipline happened equally. Odin must have been desperate not to have another war god.

"All the courts rejoiced when I was Named to rule over Thunder," he said in answer. "I think they were just happy it was a smaller entity I embodied rather than her burden."

It was a burden, no matter what anyone else would say. They weren't Asgardian. They weren't Bound. It was the Decree laid down by the first Asgardian god, Burri. Because he was the god of All Life and knew that if he didn't bind down his descendants, they would be unable to stop populating the other realms.

Loki suddenly smirked, making Thor look at him warily. "Lord of Thunder,"

The scowl was immediate. "Oh shut up," Thor said on reflex. "I wasn't Named, that was misnaming."

The hysterical laughter that he'd sat on when he heard the Grandmaster call Thor that finally let itself out.

Misnaming was a very serious offense, often punished by the god offended. Loki, who had seen Thor tear apart someone for calling him the wrong Name was terrified, but too composed to tell anyone.

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Gods could change.

Loki knew this, because he could feel the change inside him the moment he'd chosen to go after his brother than run away.

Loki could have chosen to continue his usual habit of doing what would benefit only himself, and it would have not done nothing but cement his embodiment. That of Chaos and Disorder. But Thor spoke of change.

Thor, who was carried the Name of god of Thunder, who could have done whatever he did ever since he was Named and gone on to cause wars and wielded lightning.

Thor, who changed the moment he'd returned from Midgard, eyes wide open and careful.

Thor, who still carried his Name and was still powerful.

So yes, gods could change.

He pitied her, because she never thought otherwise.

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* * *

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"What do you think Brunhilde's Name was before she was a Valkyrie?" he asked.

It was the sort of question people asked each other when bored. Valkyrie's renounced their Names the moment they joined the sisterhood, removing one binding to take on another.

Loki smiled. "The goddess of Booze."

Thor refuted it too quickly, which meant he actually agreed with the assessment.

"Have you seen her drink?" he asked, furthering his point.

Thor's face said it all. "I once saw her drain a bottle, a very large one, in under three seconds," was the reluctant answer.

The levity made Thor smile, which made Loki feel better. His brother wasn't supposed made for frowning.

"I know she was a goddess of Loyalty," Thor reluctantly answered, breaking the light moment. There was a look of deep melancholy in his face. "A minor one, not like your good friend Sigyn. But…what happened to Brunhilde, it just highlights that Burri's binding can be used against us, like Hela's was. Our poor, foolish sister."

Brunhilde, minor goddess of Loyalty, forever loyal to Asgard and its rulers. But once that loyalty is broken, it can turn inward and jagged, breaking the goddess. It's a miracle Brunhilde was still alive, which Loki attributed to all the alcohol.

"How do you know?" he had to ask. "I can't exactly tell."

Thor's eyebrows raised. "I…I have no idea. I just…I just know."

All the magic that had settled deep into Asgard, they had to have gone somewhere. Loki knew this, learning magic from Frigga's knee. Clearly, sitting on the throne meant more than succession.

"Hela's magical might…may possibly be yours now," Loki had to say. He hoped he didn't sound as worried as he felt. Hela's strength had been monstrous.

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* * *

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The throne was bound to Burri's line, as surely as anything was. The magic of Asgard was concentrated there. That affected everybody with claim to the throne.

There was also a reason why Odin killed his siblings before claiming his birthright.

The Magical Force of Asgard tied itself to the first born, then the next child and the next.

It explained why Hela had to be banished instead of executed.

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* * *

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"If I ever start hurling around lightning, you have my express permission to drop me in a pit," Thor said seriously, making Loki smirk wickedly.

"Oh, goody, permission," he cackled.

Thor sighed, seriously exasperated. But there was a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. "That wasn't permission to drive me crazy, brother."

Loki continued hamming up the wicked villain smile, making Thor smile as well, the mirth bubbling up from the depths of his soul. He felt vaguely guilty. So many dead, what right did he have to smile? But Loki was relentless, pulling at him until he felt better.

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* * *

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Loki was a Trickster God.

In the old Asgard, his tricks were to get him what he wanted, however possible.

With Asgard destroyed and feeling a bit loose, Loki discovered something amazing.

He wanted to cause mischief to make his brother laugh again, to keep him from the depths of despair.

He had been changing since Sakaar, since coming back for his brother, for his people.

He was still carrying the Name of Trickster God, but he still had power.

It was a new binding that he voluntarily carried.

Loki liked it better than his old purpose.

.

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"Is it really a good idea to go back to Midgard?" Loki had to ask. "They hate me."

Thor had that innocent look that he had actually taught Loki as children. And Frigga thought Loki was the naughty one.

"No they don't, they love you!" Thor cried out, expression so sincere that it physically pained Loki.

Loki shot him the glare that deserved. "Last time I was there, I lead an alien invasion. Tell me that again and look into my eyes."

Thor couldn't do it. The was problem with trying to lie to a Trickster God.

"You're still pissed at me, aren't you," he huffed irritably.

Thor folded his arms and pursed his lips. A small smile was playing at his lips. "A little bit."

"Oh grow up,"

Thor rounded on Loki. "They cut my hair, Loki!"

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* * *

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Gods could change.

Poor, foolish Hela, being too blind to see it.

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 **Okay, so I watched Thor:Ragnarok. So many questions…so many fanfics.**

 **Reviews pls.**


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